Posted on 09/15/2016 1:03:20 PM PDT by BenLurkin
If all goes according to plan, the 9.5-ton (8.6 metric tons) Tiangong-2 — whose name translates as "Heavenly Palace" in Mandarin — will soon settle into an orbit about 236 miles (380 kilometers) above Earth and perform a series of initial tests and checkouts, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. [China's Tiangong-2 Space Lab Mission in Pictures]
The space lab will then climb to an altitude of 244 miles (393 km) — the same height at which China's future space station will operate — and await a mid- to late-October visit from two Chinese astronauts aboard a vessel called Shenzhou-11.
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The 34-foot-long (10.4 meters) Tiangong-2 looks a lot like China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, which launched in September 2011. Chinese astronauts visited Tiangong-1 on two different occasions, spending about eight and 12 days aboard the lab in June 2012 and June 2013, respectively.
Tiangong-1 ended its operational life in March of this year and will likely fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017, Chinese officials have said.
Tiangong-1 served primarily to prove out space-docking technologies. Tiangong-2 features improved living quarters and life-support infrastructure, facilitating longer stays by visiting crewmembers, Xinhua reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
China is trying to acquire Project Gemini level space navigation skills. I guess that puts them ahead of us given the current state of America’s manned space flight program. s/?
Attention WalMart shoppers. You paid for this
Wait: that wasn’t a haiku. I apologize for the misunderstanding.
Culturally they are known for shoddy work.
At last there will be some good food up there.
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